Blazer's Edge

Fanpost Update: Recs Go to the Next Level

2008-12-02T08:08:58Z

After reading some of the comments in the last couple of days and observing Fanposts for the last few months I have made a small change to the system.

I figure since this blog represents the cream of the crop, so to speak, getting a Fanpost highlighted should be a bit more challenging. Before this 5 recs would get your Fanpost on the marquee list. That's just been upped to 7. This gives all of you extra incentive to make your Fanposts tight and relevant in order to hit the big time. We might raise it again at some point to make getting highlighted a truly momentous achievement. Sometimes other blogs with fewer Fanposts lower the threshold, so in a way raising it does highlight how uber-cool you all are.

I did NOT raise the bar on Fanshots in the same way. They are still considered the stepchild of the sidebar in some ways and I wanted to keep promotion for them easy. Neither does this affect the number of recs needed to promote a comment within a thread. 5 recs still makes your comment go green. That's happening rarely enough to make it special as it is.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Game 19 Preview: Blazers vs. Knicks

2008-12-02T07:02:21Z

A Look at the Knicks

You want to know what’s going on with the Knicks? It’s simple. They’re now the new Phoenix Suns (the old Phoenix Suns having abdicated their post). They put up an enormous number of shots. They score an enormous number of points. They don’t bother much with defense and get outrebounded every night. They shoot from everywhere on the floor without prejudice. It’s Mike D’Antoni ball all over the place.

There are a few differences between the new Knicks and the old Suns, though. First and foremost, they have neither the talent nor the togetherness that Phoenix did. Chris Duhon isn’t Steve Nash. Al Harrington isn’t Amare Stoudemire. Wilson Chandler isn’t Shawn Marion. We could go on. All of these guys are putting up decent numbers because the system practically forces you to. (Anybody close to their next contract signing should pray to get traded to New York. Forget agents, all Knicks players should be giving D’Antoni a 10% cut of their take.) But a quick look past individual stats tells you there are holes in the plan. Phoenix was always at or near the top of the league in field goal percentage. The Knicks are 21^st. Phoenix was the best three-point shooting team in the league too. New York is a respectable 8^th, but if you’re going to play this way you need more. The Knicks don’t draw fouls either. Wrap it all together and you get a team that scores 106 per game but gives up 109. At the very least those numbers need to be reversed. Not going to happen though.

The underlying subplot to New York’s season is their attempt to clear cap space for a desperate run at the free agent market in 2010. It’s hard to fault them for dumping salary. In fact it would be hard to characterize any major New York trade as anything else but dumping salary considering how bloated the contracts became under Isiah “No, No, I Really Do Know What I’m Doing” Thomas. So far they’ve traded away Zach Randolph, Jamaal Crawford, and Mardy Collins. Plus they just told Stephon Marbury to go home and write a 5,000 word essay on where he can stick his attitude. Unless he’s a proctologist on the side I doubt he’ll be able to come up with more than three of those words. Considering the level of turnover the Knicks’ 8-8 record is actually impressive.

The two main beneficiaries of the wheeling and dealing have been forward Al Harrington and guard Chris Duhon. Harrington has played three games so far, scoring 13, 25, and 36. If that progression continues he should go for 46 tonight. He’s also averaging 9.3 rebounds for them. Meanwhile Duhon has exploded all over a backcourt suddenly devoid of stars. He’s scored in double digits in 9 of his last 11 games and gone into double-digit assists 3 times as well, including racking up 22 dimes against the Warriors in the Knicks’ last outing.

As far as other key players, forward David Lee is a solid post and rebounding threat. He doesn’t shoot much but everything he takes goes in. In the Warriors game he broke that “doesn’t shoot much” rule and busted out with 37 points plus 21 rebounds. Speedy guard Nate Robinson is having a fine season so far, scoring 14.5 per game with 4.2 assists and 4.5 rebounds (those from a 5’9” guy). Second-year forward Wilson Chandler can also score the ball. Lee, Robinson, and Chandler at 55%, 47%, and 45% field goal shooting respectively, are the only Knicks who are hitting anything besides the three-pointer right now.

Quentin Richardson, Anthony Roberson, and Malik Rose round out the rotation. They haven’t been anything to crow about so far.

The Knicks are struggling to field players at the moment. Cuttino Mobley, acquired in the Clippers trade, has not played for them yet. Nate Robinson has been sidelined with a groin injury. Quentin Richardson is playing through an arm injury. Neither Eddy Curry nor Jerome James have played this season. Tim Thomas is too out of shape to play. Marbury is gone. That’s left their roster in the single digits. We’ll have to see who suits up tonight.

Keys to the Game

1. The Knicks shoot a ton of three-pointers. And by a ton I mean literally six dump trucks full. This is also the one area of the court from which they convert shots at a reasonable percentage. Portland should be able to depend on their interior defenders to handle any threat the Knicks might pose in the paint (which is minimal in any case). Portland’s perimeter players need to stay home and watch the Knick shooters. Cripple the distance shooting and you take away enough points to win.

2. Getting back in transition is key against any D’Antoni team. The Blazers did a good job of this against the Pistons. Repeat that performance here and you take away enough points to win.

3. The Knicks are lousy shot blockers. We’re not just talking run-of-the-mill lousy here. We’re talking porno-plot lousy. We’re talking Tim Donaghy’s integrity lousy. We’re talking “The Three Tenors cannot perform tonight so their places will be taken by Henry Abbott, Casey Holdahl, and Dwight Jaynes” lousy. We might even be talking Jason Quick: Chippendale Dancer lousy. (I’m not sure about that last one. I mean they are still an NBA team.) In any case, with no shot blocking and without any true big bodies, there is ZERO reason for the Blazers to avoid slamming the ball down into the paint tonight. Drive it. Post it. Dunk it. They’re going to have to put five people down there to stop one Greg Oden or Brandon Roy. That’s where your open threes come from. This is not the night for mid-range jumpers and soft dipsy-doodles.

4. One of the necessary cautions when playing against a D’Antoni-coached team is to avoid getting caught up in the YMCA-like offensive rhythm. When the shots are coming free and fast the temptation is to get yours and get it quick. I doubt the Knicks are capable of containing the first option on any given Portland play. There’s no doubt they’ll be lost if the Blazers look for the second option. This is one of those games where two passes get you any shot you want. Don’t be selfish. Don’t get rushed. Just play your game.

5. If you miss, they can’t stop you from offensive rebounding. Watch out for Blazer putbacks tonight.

6. On a related note, foul trouble is Portland’s ally with New York so short-handed.

Final Thoughts

The Knicks are 6-1 when scoring over 110 points, 2-7 when failing to reach 110. The Blazers are going to have to play one heck of a poor game to give up 110 to them. Style will be everything here. You should be able to tell easily whether Portland is headed for a win.

Check out the Knicks point of view at PostingandToasting.

Don’t forget to enter Game 1 of the December Jersey Contest here.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Brandon Roy P.O.W.

2008-12-01T23:13:42Z

It's been mentioned in the sidebar twice now, but here's the official press release from the Blazers:

BRANDON ROY NAMED NBA'S WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Trail Blazers 4-0 on the week

PORTLAND, Ore. - Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy was named the NBA's Western Conference Player of the Week, it was announced Monday by the NBA.

Roy guided the Trail Blazers to a 4-0 week, with wins over Sacramento , Miami , New Orleans and Detroit . The third-year Trail Blazer and 2008 NBA All-Star averaged 20.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists while shooting 50.8% (30-for-59) from the floor in four starts. He also set or tied season highs with 28 points vs. Sacramento , seven rebounds vs. Miami and 10 assists vs. New Orleans .

"As a leader of our team and a player who does both the big and small things to help us win, Brandon couldn't be more deserving of the honor," said Trail Blazers General Manager Kevin Pritchard . "Having the NBA recognize his performance this past week is a testament to his selfless play and a recognition of the team's early season success."

At 12-6 overall, the Trail Blazers have played 11 of their first 18 games on the road and are currently tied for first place in the Northwest Division and tied for second in the Western Conference.

Other nominees for the honor were New Orleans ' Chris Paul, Houston 's Yao Ming, Dallas ' Jason Terry and the L.A. Lakers' Kobe Bryant.

Roy, 24, garnered the award for the third time in his career after winning it in back-to-back weeks last season (Dec. 9 and Dec. 16). He joins Clyde Drexler as one of two players in franchise history to win the award three times.

Congratulations to Brandon. Player of the Month next? I suppose Player of the Fortnight would have to come first...

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Today's Poll

2008-12-01T19:56:05Z

Is it time to recallibrate expectations? It's almost a quarter of the way through the season. Every power ranking has us in the top 5. We're at or near the top of the division and conference standings. We've been battle tested and emerged with a resume that stacks up with just about everybody.

But have your expectations really changed? Before the season, most everyone thought first round and out would be a great performance. Does that still sit right with you? Are you now ready to raise this team's roof? If so, how far? I've got birds chirping in my ears about titles. It's terrifying.

Vote and let's talk about it.

-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)

Poll

What is this team's ceiling?

Read These Links

2008-12-01T19:02:41Z

Blogfather got fitted for his championship ring this weekend (just kidding). Henry writes...

Who are the NBA's four elite teams, based on Hollinger's formulas and the early returns? With all the normal early season provisos, and in order, they are: the Los Angeles Lakers (36.8% chance of winning the title), the Cleveland Cavaliers (30%), the Boston Celtics (13%), and ... my Portland Trail Blazers (10.9%).

All in all, you can sense (and hopefully share) his giddiness. It's been an incredible first 18 games (18 games already?) As Dave pointed out, it's been awhile since things have been this good.

But the funniest thing about Henry's piece? The paragraph that people are emailing me angry about is this one....

Look, I'm not getting ahead of myself here. I realize that Portland still has flaws, and will not be winning a title this year.

... Apparently there are many of you ready to spray champagne. Let it all hang out. Show them what you're working with. I won't stop you. But remember that all of this, everything, runs through Brandon Roy. I need not remind you what happened last season when he went down. Booooo, buzzkill, boooo. Sorry about that. But things can change quickly in the NBA.

On to the rest of today's links.

Don't know if you caught this in yesterday's postgame thread, but Torrid Joe from Loaded Orygun, one of Oregon's preeminent political bloggers, announced that he is planning to step up his Blazers coverage. As a pro-active, thoughtful citizen reporter/blogger, TJ is a kindred spirit and I highly recommend you check out his work. Yesterday he took a long look at LaMarcus Aldridge.

LaMarcus plays 90 feet, however, and was able to nusiance the otherwise nonchalant Wallace into misses and general offensive irrelevance. On the other end, Aldridge was dynamite and Wallace was pathetic. Leading all scorers with 27 and players with 40 minutes, LMA just made Wallace and the rest of the Pistons look impotent to stop him. He showed all kinds of range, hitting short baseliners and deep twos from the perimeter. He grabbed three offensive baords, and really--this cannot be underestimated--he intimidated Rasheed.

Martell Webster, due back in a week or two, saying all the right things to Jason Quick

"It doesn't matter if I come back as a starter," Webster said. "All I want to do is contribute positively to this team. I just want to win. I want to win. If that means me coming back and only playing 15, 10 minutes a game ... well, there has to be a reason I'm in there for that 10 to 15 minutes. So I'm going to use it to my advantage."

More Quick, with a look at Nic.

Turns out, Batum does like Outlaw and the rest of his teammates, though he finds himself gravitating toward the other foreign players on the team -- Fernandez and Sergio Rodriguez.

"I'm very quiet because I'm shy," Batum said. "And I'm young, I'm from France, and I'm trying to learn English. But it's cool. I love my teammates."

Brian Hendrickson talks recognition with Joelzilla.

"I don't need that hoopla and people coming at you," the ninth-year center said. "I know fans respect what I do. ... I know it's out there. I just don't get the print in the newspaper. It don't bother me any. I've been like that my whole career and it doesn't bother me."

You guys spoke out about Greg Oden last week and it sounds like Greg Jayne heard you.

I can understand the defensiveness of some fans; they're being fans, and you have to love 'em for it. Oden's plus/minus numbers certainly are not a definitive evaluation of his play. I mean, the guy is nine games into his career, for goodness' sake; there's a long way to go.

But the numbers from the past two games are really, really disturbing. Oden has played a total of 33 minutes in those games, and the Blazers - who are very good and very deep - have been outscored by 40 points when he's on the floor. That is not good, even though it's not entirely Oden's fault.

It needs to be said: during yesterday's win against the Pistons (Oden's first real chance to play during crunch time) he finished +26, second highest on the team. Imagine that! You increase his playing time alongside Brandon Roy and his plus/minus improves dramatically.

Greg is doing fine. It's not a "fan" thing, it's reality.

SJ from Rip City Project with an impassioned reaction from yesterday's win at Detroit.

I don't want to hear the excuses. I know they are coming on SportsCenter when someone in the stat department decides to point out that the Pistons play horribly on Sundays. And then *insert anchor's name* cracks a joke about AI missing practice/cracks a joke about the Pistons stucking on Sunday. No, sir. The Red and Black Attack went out and got the job done. Plain and simple. Winning in Detroit is hard enough, but going in there and shooting 52% from the field. Come on now. Come. On. Now. The Pistons have slipped defensively but not that much.

Dwight makes a number of good points. First on Billups/Nuggets

Meanwhile, the Nuggets are a different team with Billups on the floor. They're suddenly defending a little bit, sharing the ball and playing with some direction. Billups is one of those players you don't really appreciate until he's gone. And I really cannot believe Detroit made that trade. It has changed the dynamics of both conferences.

We could easily be in for a season long three-way dogfight with the Jazz and Nuggets in our division. Will a tight division race serve as a motivator for KP to make a splashy trade using Raef's contract? That would be fun. If RLEC does get traded we should make that day a holiday on Blazers Edge. You would have our permission to take off work.

More Dwight on Greg Oden's lack of enthusiam during pregame introductions

God love you, Greg. Maybe it will start a trend. Save every ounce of energy for the games. Protect your body to better withstand the punishment you get every time someone passes you the ball. Be cool . . . and let the other teams win the intros.

As long as he plays in sync like he did Sunday, he can sleep during pregame introductions. Did you see the smile on the court during the 4th quarter yesterday? I think Greg's turning a corner.

Ike Diogu owns every single Playstation 3 game on the market? Even this one? Am I reading this right (From Joe Freeman)?

He buys new games whenever they are released -- he owns every PlayStation 3 title -- so he can both stay on top of the latest trends and satisfy his artistic curiosity.

NBA Power Rankings:

Stein -- #4
Hollinger -- #3
Yahoo! -- #4
CNNSI -- #4
In My Heart -- #1

Last but not least, Brother Wendell checks in with a story about former coach Eric Musselman. I've been reading Eric Musselman's blog a little bit recently, looking for some jewels about leadership and coaching. Why now, you ask? Because if the Blazers' success continues at this clip, Nate will be odds-on for Coach of the Year. Listening to him speak after games is getting to be hypnotizing; the last thing I want to be doing is taking that kind of sustained excellence for granted.

-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)

Jersey Contest Winner!

2008-12-01T08:54:14Z

The final Jersey Contest results from October-November have been tabulated! Here are the top ten scorers, culminating with our winner:

10. Amlmart1 814 pts

9. JBCooper80 820 pts

8. DirtyFernandez 823 pts

7. OldSchool 827 pts

6. You’veGotToMakeYourFreeThrows 849 pts

5. Zaron5551 852 pts

4. Itheryn 862 pts

3. Tweener 867 pts

2. BlazerBear 881 pts

And the October-November jersey winner is…

1. MavetheGreat 884 pts

Congratulations to MavetheGreat! Also don’t despair if you just missed out. You’re still in great position to get invited into the end-of-the-year playoffs for the Grand Prize. Just keep playing and keep those scores high.

Also we’ve had to change the way we’re going bonus prizes this year. In years past we’ve given a small bonus prize to anyone who hit a target score. That worked great when there were 150 people playing. With 700 people playing (and yes, there were that many) too many people hit the number to make it practical and affordable. So here’s the deal. This year’s target number is 77. Anybody who hits a 77 during the month goes into a random drawing to be given an original, frame-worthy caricature of a Blazer player courtesy of Amlmart1. I have some caricatures in hand already and will be receiving more. It’s a little bit less cool that you don’t automatically get a prize for hitting the bonus number but the prize you do get if you win is a lot cooler, so it works out.

This month’s winner of the caricature, drawn at random from all the people who scored a 77 sometime during the month, is PorterFan30.

Hopefully we have the kinks worked out of the system after our shakedown month. Thanks for sticking with us through the sometimes-delayed scoreboard reports. And thanks to Manzell for getting things to work! Don’t forget we start from scratch with Tuesday’s game against the Knicks. Somebody will win another jersey in December! The form for the next game is here.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

A Story

2008-12-01T08:26:06Z

Back in college I used to get together with buddies from time to time to play cards and such. One night we were all sitting around a table getting our card game on when one of my friends let loose a sudden and enormous sneeze. The rest of us passed over it after the obligatory “Bless You’s” and jokes about naming that hurricane but you could tell the guy wasn’t entirely comfortable after that. He tried to be sly about it but he kept looking at himself, wiping his shirt, subtly checking his sleeves, and such. He was the victim of the dreaded Stealth Booger.

The Stealth Booger, for those who don’t know, happens when you sneeze and you know something came out, but you can’t find it. It’s an epic disaster on a date, of course. Among friends it’s not quite so bad, but it’s still a precarious situation. I mean, we were good guys. If the thing was sitting there on the front of his shirt somebody would have tactfully pointed it out. But in the absence of visual evidence you can’t very well have the whole table playing Hunt the Booger. Nor can you sit there and do it yourself without being totally obvious. It’s not like everybody’s going to sit there looking at the ceiling and talking about the weather while you’re on your own, private snot safari. So after you’ve exhausted all potential destinations, which usually includes six checks of your shirt and ninety-five surreptitious glances at your own crotch, you start to play mind games with yourself. Maybe it was just the force of the sneeze that you felt. Maybe nothing really came out. Everything’s fine. You’re going to look idiotic and call even more attention to yourself if you keep searching. So you force yourself to concentrate on other things, forgetting the incident entirely.

Beware, friends, for now the Stealth Booger has you exactly where it wants you. And it will strike.

So…fast forward a couple minutes and cute co-ed girl walks into the room to chat and see what’s going on. Being an inveterate womanizer (and now thoroughly convinced that he is completely booger-free) Mr. Smooth starts chatting up said co-ed. In the process, half thinking and half chatting, he picks up one of the Cheetos from the little plate in front of him. As he makes some no-doubt witty bon mot he holds the Cheeto halfway between the plate and his mouth, thankfully shielded from the girl but in full view of the rest of us. Yes, folks, we have located the Stealth Booger. And the orange powder background only highlights the messy horror.

Half the table didn’t notice, but the sudden, uncomfortable silence that descended upon two or three of us indicated that our booger radars were intact. We could have attempted to do something about it. But stop and think for a minute: what’s the proper etiquette in that situation? You can’t very well interrupt the banter with Ms. Hotness by saying, “Uh, dude? Booger on your Cheeto there.” Nor would a whisper suffice. The horrified facial reaction following would have no doubt made the poor girl think that something was seriously wrong, like a social disease or silent, uncontrollable flatulence. There’s no way he could have explained the truth later either. I suppose one of us could have attempted to grab the offending Cheeto, but that would be just as socially uncomfortable and probably would have led to a public scuffle before it could have been explained privately. Besides, the only place to grab would have been the boogery end. As I said, we were friends, but not that good of friends. Grabbing another man’s snot to save his chick chat? Nobody was going to fall on that grenade.

So those of us who noticed sat and watched in stunned horror as the conversation wound down. Finally, to our immense relief, the cute co-ed bid farewell and left. But before anybody could get out as much as an “Uh, dude?” …you guessed it. He popped that Cheeto right in his mouth. The expression on his face as his mind slowly processed the reason for the relative stickiness of his snack was…I don’t know…indescribable. He spit the thing out in a shower of orange paste. At that point the whole table let loose, half of us in uncomprehending shock and the other half in no-longer containable laughter. Those who hadn’t been in on what happened were soon informed. I don’t think anyone there will forget that night. I’m not sure Mr. Smooth ever had quite the same standing in our circle again. I am sure we never saw him try to talk with the girls without us snickering. We only half hid it too.

Here’s the point of all this: I’ve seen bad. I’ve been in the same room with bad. I’ve watched bad while it’s happened. I know what bad looks like. When you post here, it’s not supposed to be bad. It’s supposed to be good, both in content and good for the site.

We have conversational guidelines but no list of rules could cover every contingency. There’s plenty of wiggle room in there to create bad content without technically violating them. So just to be clear I thought I’d inform you of another, overarching principle which explains the spirit of the law just as the rules illuminate the letter:

If your posting sucks worse than snot-covered Cheetos, you have to go.

Some will ask, “Who arbitrates this Snot-Covered Cheeto Principle and what’s bad enough to fall afoul of it?” Generally I do. I have pretty wide boundaries, especially if all we’re talking about is content quality. We’ll not become an elitist clique. However stirring up crap is a time-honored trolling technique and it’s one I’m not fond of. Intent usually becomes clear within a few comment responses. At that point if you get banned or the conversation ends you’ll know why. SCCP, baby.

I don't want to make this longer or deviate too far from the story, so see the first comment below to learn how you can best help.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Reflections on the Game and the Best Month In Forever

2008-12-01T07:09:14Z

As Ben said in his excellent game recap below, I was not able to watch the game today...most of it anyway. DirecTV didn't have it up on their guide properly which means I missed everything before the last part of the third quarter. I try not to do reviews with incomplete information so Ben took care of it for me. I did have a couple of impressions from what I saw:

--The Pistons tried to steamroll the Blazers late in the game and it worked for a while. Portland was turning the ball over and getting bad shots. But after Detroit took that small lead the Blazers starters returned along with the poise. In the end it was the Pistons--a veteran, ex-championship squad--who looked hesitant and discombobulated. On a couple sets literally nobody outside of Iverson wanted to put up a shot. How's that for defense?

--Notice how the Blazers are not only setting, but using picks much better this year. For years the screen was a waste of time because even if the screener set it right (which seldom happened) the dribblers pretty much ignored him. Portland is running some of the best pick plays I've seen and that's one of the reasons they are getting good shots.

--Greg Oden's outlet passing is delicious. Notice how quickly and accurately he gets the ball out after rebounding it. We haven't seen that around here for a while.

--Oden's block on Allen Iverson in the fourth was one of a dozen or more huge moments in this game but it pretty much announced to the NBA that the Blazers are ready to be taken seriously. Iverson is supposed to score. That's what he does. Even if he misses, he's supposed to get the shot up. Erasing that attempt like it was nothing put our stamp on this contest and on AI. If we can do that to Iverson and the Pistons there are few teams who can still pretend they're immune. I can think of one in green and one in purple and gold. A couple others might be respectful, but unfazed. Everybody else will be going, "Wow...this could be trouble."

Moving beyond the game, as we finish the month of November, having passed through one of the most evil single-month schedules in league history, it's time to stop and reflect about what an amazing ride this has been so far.

We are 12-6, people.

There have been some hard losses in there but the brutal, embarrassing, "you're not ready" losses have been limited to one. The wins, meanwhile, have ranged from the solid to the spectacular.

Against this quality of opponent with this kind of schedule, 12-6 easily counts as our best month since the days when Rasheed wore our uniform. All things considered it may be the best month since the Clyde days. We've had months with far fewer losses but not with a team this young and not against these kinds of opponents.

December looms and the schedule is nearly as tough there. The Blazers aren't out of the woods yet. Also they have to be careful of letting down once they do get past the rough patch. You get zero wins on credit in this league. You have to go out and prove you're a good team for months on end before you can be considered one. So far, however, the team has performed amazingly well. Taking a moment to acknowledge that is important.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Game 18 Review: Blazers 96 Pistons 85

2008-12-01T04:06:30Z

Boxscore

Remember last week when Dave was asking for advice about his new HDTV? Well, his current television caught wind of Dave's scheme and was none too pleased. Dave came home from work last night to find an empty living room with a note on his TV stand. "So, you want to take up with a younger, prettier model, do you? Fine! I don't have to take this. I'm leaving! And don't bother trying to track me down either. I'm taking the VCR with me. Good luck, Buddy!" With Dave thusly preoccupied, you're stuck with me for your game recap.

General Observations

The Pistons are a much better matchup for us with Allen Iverson instead of Chauncey Billups. The crisp efficiency, easy buckets and steady hand that Billups brought to their offense could foreseeably have caused problems for our team defense, which is still learning to play with Greg in the middle. But Iverson was more The Problem than The Answer for Detroit tonight, as his convoluted drives and 2 for 9 shooting seemed to take his teammates out of rhythm. His 3 assists were almost accidental. The Pistons tried to do the Prince-as-point-foward thing; it looked improvised, which is not how offenses should look.

To their credit, the Blazers didn't give the Pistons any time to develop rhythm. For the umpteenth game in a row, we jumped out to a hot start and tonight it was all LaMarcus Aldridge, who scored 7 of our first 9 points and was hitting jumpers short, medium and long throughout the contest. While LMA was handling the scoring, Greg was busy manning the defensive glass: his 8 boards in the game's first 9 minutes limited Detroit's second-chance scoring opportunities. Entering the game, I'm sure there were more than a few observers chuckling at the Oden vs. Kwame Brown matchup. But Greg got the last laugh tonight: another double-double (11, 13 and 3 blocks) and his first extended play during crunch time against a top opponent.

Our second unit struggled on both ends in both the 2nd and 3rd quarters. With some time to think about it, though, I'm not sure if we need to read too much into that except to say this: Rodney Stuckey is a beast. Sergio had the toughest matchup of anyone tonight and he did an admirable job, but Stuckey clearly won that battle. Nate mixed things up to try to slow Stuckey down, throwing Outlaw, Blake and Batum at him in the second half. It didn't much matter. Stuckey's size, strength and ability to get into the lane gave us considerable problems but with no one else able to really get off (Hamilton was their next brightest spot, with 18 points), the game remained winnable throughout the third quarter and into the fourth.

If you recall earlier this season, Dave explained quite well what playoff teams need to be able to do in crunch time: execute well enough so that they can score points when their first (and possibly second) go-to options are taken away from them. During the crucial 4th quarter stretch that put this game away, our offensive possessions ended like this:

Blake hits a wide-open catch and shoot 3 in the corner.
LaMarcus hits an open jumper at the top of the key off of the pick and roll.
Greg had an uncontested dunk underneath the hoop after a scramble for the ball.
Brandon hits an and-one jumper after the pick and roll creates a mismatch (Herrmann? More like Herrwomann. No chance against Brandon one on one).
Brandon hits an easy layup going to the hoop.
The ball swings to Batum who hits an open look baseline jumper.

What's the takeaway from that stretch? Every possession found the ball in a player's hands where he knows exactly what to do with it. I really don't think Nate could have drawn up that 3 or so minute stretch any better. 5 different players scored, in all manners and from all distances, and it looked easy. It looked easy because, relatively speaking, it was easy -- or at least as easy as scoring gets on the road against a quality opponent.

The points came from all over but our sets didn't really change that much. Brandon had the ball up top, with LMA setting picks. Greg was on the low block. Steve and Nic were just lurking, ready to catch and shoot. The high pick and roll game dictated the game to Detroit, forcing their defenders to make tough decisions. When they tried to force the ball out of Brandon's hands, they got killed by every Blazer in a different way. When they tried to play Brandon straight up, he killed them by himself (as he has been doing all year). The Pistons never found an answer. And when we're moving the ball and hitting open shots, it's unclear if there is a good answer.

Individual Observations

The game ball goes to LMA tonight (27 and 4). From start to finish he was draining his shot and he worked hard on defense. What a night.

Rudy continues to be all over the map. To get this win without much of an offensive contribution from him (3 points) is surprising. Tonight was another night where his first one or two shots dictated how his offensive night developed. He started cold and stayed cold. As always, he did the Rudy little things -- play hard and draw fouls-- that are invaluable.

Travis also struggled tonight, most memorably when he committed a Jack-esque atrocious over-and-back violation. He looked like someone who was trying not to fall into a pool and failing miserably. But his two baskets, both 3s, couldn't have been bigger. His second triple, especially, which pushed the lead back to 9 during a critical third quarter stretch. Travis also had a nice block on the defensive end.

As mentioned, Sergio drew a tough matchup against Stuckey and struggled to keep him out of the lane. He gave up 3 turnovers (although Stuckey finished with 5). But Sergio did have two huge momentum shots to close out the 2nd and 3rd quarters. The one before halftime, particularly, was sweet: a little flip shot that stayed in the air for an extra half-beat before coming down through the hoop much to everyone's surprise (except Sergio's). And he also had a nice three on a dish from Rudy with Iverson rushing out at him. Never easy to remain cool in that situation and just stroke that three. Despite Stuckey's play, Sergio might have been the brightest star off our bench tonight.

Loved everything about Greg's performance tonight, especially the fact that he got all the playing time down the stretch and the team's execution looked great with him on the floor. Let's not overlook the fact that he is one of the few seven footers in the league who, when he steps to the free throw line, you think "he's got these" and not "please call an ambulance, I'm having a heart attack." He was 5-6 from the stripe tonight. I don't think Hack-a-Greg will be a viable solution to slowing down our fourth quarter offense. That is awesome. Also, he looked to be in the best shape of the season, playing 31 minutes.

100,000s of words have been written about Nic Batum but it's still not enough. He got crunch time minutes tonight too and everything I wrote in the previous paragraph about Greg applies to Nic as well. He was calm, cool, collected, and clutch. He's setting a very, very high bar for Martell to meet.

Frye barely played (6 minutes). I think it's time to get used hearing those words. Prepare yourself.

Joel also saw much less time than usual (just 17 minutes). Did tonight represent another step forward in the transfer of pivot power from Joel to Greg? I think that's probably going too far. For one, Greg did a good job of staying out of foul trouble early in the game (he played the first 9 minutes). For two, Greg will get a nice condiitioning test Tuesday night.

Final Thoughts

Huge win. Another great one for the resume. Credit Nate for having the team ready to go from the opening whistle. There were plenty of excuses not to show up for this game (first on the road, early start, Sunday after Thanksgiving, etc.). None of those will be needed after this one.

As of tonight, we are the 3 seed in the West. But there are plenty of potholes left in this road trip. Starting with the methball Knicks on Tuesday.

-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)

Gameday Open Thread: Blazers vs. Pistons--Second Half

2008-11-30T21:17:38Z

So far so good, eh? Root your way through the second period right here.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Gameday Open Thread: Blazers vs. Pistons

2008-11-30T07:55:01Z

The road trip begins! Again! Let us know how you think Portland will fare in this game and then discuss as the contest ensues. Here's hoping for another nice victory!

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Game 18 Preview: Blazers vs. Pistons

2008-11-30T07:53:48Z

A Look at the Pistons

Detroit enters today’s game with a respectable 10-5 record, second in the Central Division to the streaking Cleveland Cavaliers and fourth overall in the Eastern Conference. Despite that, these are not your championship-vintage Pistons. The difference can be summed up in one word: defense. The intimidating, suffocating, clockwork-precision D that used to be a Piston hallmark is long gone. Detroit is now allowing opponents to shoot 45.9% (22^nd best in the league) and score 96.6 (13^th best in the league). They’re a decent, but not overpowering, defensive rebounding team and they force few turnovers. Mind you, Detroit is not bad defensively as much as anemic compared to their old selves.

The downturn in defensive prowess means that a team which was once a near-unstoppable machine is now looking beatable. You have to play well to do it, but it can be done. Indeed, the onus is now on Detroit to score in order to win. They are 1-5 when scoring under 100 points, 9-0 when topping that mark.

The one area where Detroit remains strong defensively is on the perimeter. They hound opposing guards and shooters. If you can get inside, though, providing Rasheed Wallace isn’t having an inspired night you can really do damage.

The main offensive threat for Detroit lately has been Allen Iverson. He’s led the team in scoring 6 times in 11 games and led the team in assists 7 times. The Pistons’ record is only 6-5 since he arrived, however. After Iverson come Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince. Prince is having one of his best offensive seasons but Hamilton’s shooting has been below his usual excellent standard so far. Our old friend Rasheed Wallace leads the team in rebounding but continues to excite one night and disappear the next. He also camps out behind the three-point line as much as ever.

After the four core players the Pistons run out guys like Amir Johnson, Kwame Brown, Rodney Stuckey, and Jason Maxiell. All of them are serviceable. None of them are particularly inspiring. Most of them shoot well. The big guys rebound well. They’re decent role players and they know their jobs. Stuckey and Johnson can occasionally surprise you. But as a whole they’re not going to win games for you like the Big Four.

If you come out soft or unprepared the Pistons are going to hand you your hat and send you on your way with a convincing loss. But if you go hard at them, prosecuting your own game instead of bowing to theirs, you have a chance. Respect them enough to take them seriously, but not so much that you fear them. They’re not that team anymore.

Keys to the Game

1. Three-point shooting is going to be an interesting stat today. The Blazers are very good at shooting them…in fact depend on them to keep the offense running smoothly. Detroit defends the three-point arc very well. If the Blazers cannot hit and the Pistons are allowed to pack it in, it’s going to be a long and embarrassing afternoon.

2. The Pistons are 3-2 in games when Allen Iverson had the sole scoring lead. One of the ways to make this team less effective is to keep its crucial players from getting involved. I actually like Iverson scoring a bundle in this game to the exclusion of Prince, Hamilton, and Wallace. If the latter three are disengaged or frustrated Portland has a great chance of winning.

3. Our centers versus whoever Detroit throws out there will be the best potential matchup for the Blazers but Lamarcus Aldridge versus Rasheed Wallace will be the most critical. Lamarcus can’t get dominated, nor can he afford to let Rasheed have an easy day guarding him. Tiring Wallace, or even better getting him in foul trouble, would go a long way towards opening up the middle.

4. Despite what we said above about Detroit’s defense they are still more than capable if you let them set their defense. These guys are smart and experienced. They’ll know your plays before you do. The best way around that is keeping the ball moving and defenders guessing and on edge. This is not the game to isolate your forward in the post sixty-two times.

5. The Blazers must take care of the ball to avoid giving the Pistons easy points.

6. When in doubt, run and drive.

Final Thoughts

This will be a tough road trip. One of the keys to our winning record in the last trip was winning the early games, thus taking the pressure off. This would be a fantastic win today…another “Blazers have arrived” type victory. It won’t be easy because or Detroit’s talent and experience. This could be one of those games where big brother takes little brother to school. The noon Pacific start is also to the Blazers’ disadvantage. That’s awfully early compared to most of our outings. The Blazers will need to be focused and energized from the beginning and not let the Pistons just mow over them.

You can enter the final Jersey Contest form of the month here. Don’t forget the noon start. ALSO don’t forget that the scoreboard does NOT include the season-opening L*kers game, which DOES count. Therefore the leader after today’s game may not have actually won. I will add in the Los Angeles scores this evening and let you know.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Catching Up with Koponen

2008-11-29T09:20:45Z

Our sportswriter friend from Finland has sent an extensive update on Petteri Koponen. I hope the Petterioholics out there get their fill!

Catching up with Petteri Koponen in Italy

From Las Vegas to Eurobasket qualifiers

Petteri Koponen showed some promise in the 2008 Las Vegas summer league. He managed to average 13,2 points and 3,4 assists a game for the Jerryd Bayless-lead Portland Trailblazers team and showed the skeptics he is able to hold his own against NBA substitute level guards such as Dee Brown, Quincy Douby, DJ Strawberry and Bobby Brown. Petteri's defensive presence was much better than advertised and his ability to find the open man wasn't left unnoticed, even though because the lack of shooters in the team, Koponen's assist numbers were smaller than the majority of the people expected.

Of course, there were flaws in Petteri's game. Except for the summer league opener against Washington Wizards, Petteri couldn't find stability in his shooting. Excluding the Wizards game, Petteri only shot .345 % from the field and horrendous .071% from the three point land. Petteri's ability to create plays when pressured by defensive specialists such as DJ Strawberry left a lot of room for improvement. And even though Petteri showed he was tough enough to play with the big boys, it was clear that he could need more seasoning - 20-year old Euro point guards rarely are able to perform well in the NBA (Alors, Tony Parker!).

Much like the experts expected, the Trailblazers finally left Petteri off their 2008/2009 regular season roster. Even though a handful of other NBA teams showed interest, Blazers didn't want to let go of Koponen's rights. When it was clear that Koponen wouldn't return to Portland for October training camp, he began searching for a new club and finally ended up to Italian powerhouse Virtus Bologna - a team that just had signed NBA veteran Earl Boykins for a (rumored) 3 million euro contract.

Before heading to Italy, Koponen lead Finnish national team to the Eurobasket 2009 qualifiers. Because Finland's starting point guard, 28-year old 6-2" Teemu Rannikko of Russian elite club Himky was injured, Koponen was handed the starting point guard duties. Even though Finland was able to beat proven European basketball countries such as France and Latvia in the friendly games, doubters gathered when Koponen had a 2-point, 4-turnover night (field goals 1-7) in the qualification opener against Bulgaria. Finland lost the game 68-90 and things didn't go much better in the second game, when team Italy was able to beat Finland 88-80: Koponen shot only 4-13 and struggled against seasoned Italian guards.

In the third qualifier game, Koponen lead Finland to team's biggest win in fifteen years, when Nenad Krstic and basketball giant Serbia suffered their only qualifier loss in Vantaa, Finland, 80-77. Koponen lead the team in scoring with 18 points, clinched the game with clutch three pointer with less than a minute remaining and harassed experienced Serbian starting point guard Milos Vujanic all night long. Finland was able to win two out of remaining five games, with Petteri having his ups and downs put finally ending up with respectable averages of 14,3 points, 3,0 assists and 2,7 rebounds (field goals .400 %, treys .306 %, free throws .885 %) over the last five qualifier games.

Even though Koponen showed pretty much of his youth in the qualifier games, ESPN picked him as the "sleeper" of qualifier group A (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?page=Euro-Qualifying). Being the starting point guard of his national team against top international competition should help Koponen in 2009, when Finland heads to the additional Eurobasket qualifying round against Italy and Tony Parker's France.

From Eurobasket qualifiers to Italy

The beginning of Koponen's first full season as a professional was far from easy. Because of national team duties, Koponen was able to join the team only a month after the team had began training. After signing the contract with Virtus, Koponen became the second youngest professional in Italian Serie A after Lottomatica Roma's Brandon Jennings. The second youngest player in Virtus Bologna's active roster is 25-year old American Keith Langford.

Koponen performed relatively well in the first preseason games in limited minutes. After a relatively good opener (5 points, 2 assists, 2 steals in 12 minutes of play), Koponen didn't get much playing time under coach Renato Pasquali. So far, Petteri has averaged a ho-hum 2,3 points, 0,8 rebounds and 0,8 assists in 12,2 minutes a game in six Serie A games. The beginning of the season didn't lack drama, either - after three straight wins, Virtus lost two games in a row and head coach Pasquali was fired and replaced by 2007/2008 Italian League coach of the year, Matteo Bonicinolli.

After the arrival of Bonicinolli, Koponen has cracked the playing rotation of Virtus Bologna and in the last two games, it seems that he has found his role in the team. Last Sunday Petteri had four points and one assist in 20 minutes of play against NGC Cantu, but what's beyond the numbers is more important. Petteri entered the game in the beginning of the second half, with Virtus Bologna trailing 39-33. Petteri was assigned to lock down Cantu point guard Sundiata Gaines and he responded with a really strong defensive effort, sparking Virtus to 14-4 run over the next five minutes. Virtus won the game 87-69, improving to 5-2 in Serie A play.

After his strong performance against NGC Cantu, Koponen logged his first start of the season in FIBA EuroChallenge Cup opener against Belgian club Base Oostende. Koponen played 14 minutes in the first half of the game, scoring 4 points to go with 1 assist and 1 steal. Virtus Bologna climbed to an early 40-18 lead, but Oostende stormed back behind strong play by center Nick Fazekas (28/11). Virtus eventually won the game 70-69, but Koponen played only two minutes in the second half.

All in all, right now it seems that Koponen has been able to overcome the opening difficulties. The level of play in Italian Serie A is far better than Finnish League, so the slow start didn't come as a surprise. Right now it's interesting to see how much playing time Petteri is going to get behind Earl Boykins in the remainder of the season and when is Petteri able to regain his shooting touch (.476 % three point average in Finnish League was no accident).

Of course, from Trailblazers perspective, it might be difficult to be interested in Koponen right now. Koponen is signed with Virtus Bologna until the end of 2011/2012 season, and with Trailblazers being one of the most interesting (and youngest) teams in the league, it might be true that reading about a project point guard who might be in roster one day could be a waste of time. Anyway, the Blazers fans should remember that they are a dynasty in the making. Blazers certainly have the most upside in the league and the nucleus of Greg Oden, Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge and Rudy Fernandez could dominate the league in 2012.

But the Blazers couldn't have gotten here if it wasn't for GM Kevin Pritchard, who seems to select the right choices time after time. Sergio Rodriguez was criticized? This year he has shown he can be very effective in limited minutes. Drafting Nicolas Batum and bringing him to the active roster? Come on, he made D-Wade look like Ricky Davis. Joel Przybilla? With Oden just getting started, Przybilla has proven his worth. And how about Joel Freeland? After two years of collecting bench splinters, he has been one of the most steady performers in Spanish ACB, the best league in Europe. You might not see Koponen in Portland before 2011 or 2012, but Pritchard didn't want to let go of him. That alone should tell something.

I catched up with Petteri just before the EuroChallenge game against Oostende and asked him a few questions. I translated the text into English, trying to maintain the original sound of the conversation. Enjoy.

Q + A with Petteri Koponen

Me: You had a pretty rough start in the Italian Serie A. You didn't get to play many minutes and you struggled with your shot a bit. You've been there for two months now, does it seem that you're getting the hang of it?

Petteri: Well, things are getting better day by day. I came here one month later than other guys and I knew that adjusting would take some time. The level of Serie A is of course much better than Finnish League, but at this moment I already know what's coming. It's true I didn't get much minutes in the first games, but it seems that our new head coach is willing to give me some more responsibility. Although we have to remember that Earl Boykins has really earned his minutes, he's been one of the most dominate players in Serie A so far.

Me: Have you been able to catch up with your own expectations? And have you been able to sit down and talk with your new head coach about your role in the team?

Petteri: I have to admit that my expecations were a little bit higher, I thought I could be able to perform almost straight away. Then again, we have a good group of players - ten guys in this team have NBA or Euroleague experience, and I'm just a 20-year old youngling from Finland, that isn't exactly known as a basketball country. This scenario forces me to admit certain realities, like the fact that I wouldn't get anything for free.

Throughout the season I have seen that I am able to hang there in practices and that has helped me believing in myself. The biggest difference is that right now I have to be able to use all the minutes I get effectively. In Honka and national team I got used to playing 30, 35 minutes a game and I didn't play full speed all the time so that I could be effective in the fourth quarter. Over here, I might be entered for 40 seconds and I have to give everything I got in that time.

At the moment my role is to come off the bench and bring more energy to our game through defence. I also play in very classic pass-first point guard role, because we have a team full of capable scorers. I haven't been able to shoot and score a lot so far, but it takes time, I'm not worried about it. Local reporters have labeled me a defensive expert, which is something completely unheard of for me (laughter).

Me: When you played for Honka Playboys, coach Mihailo Pavicevic gave you quite a lot of liberties to create plays the way you liked, but now you're in an entirely different situation. What is Virtus Bologna's offensive playbook like and what kind of a point guard would you describe yourself right now?

Petteri: We have two pretty much alike motion offences. Every player participates in the play, reading all situations and the movements of other players. We also have a handful of set plays but that's just about it. So far our team offence has been functioning pretty well and it will get better once we learn how to know each other and get adjusted to the system.

Me: How about professional life in general? Any sour surprises for you so far?

Petteri: No, things have been pleasant. Luckily I learned about customs of professional sports from the older national team players such as Hanno Möttölä (1996-2000 Utah Utes, 2000-2002 Atlanta Hawks) and Teemu Rannikko. It has been a surprise how my whole life is built completely around basketball but I just enjoy doing what I like to do the most.

Me: And what about local fans? I've heard they're quite enthusiastic in Italy..

Petteri: Oh yeah, the fan culture in Bologna is to die for! The fans notice every situation - they cheer our every basket and defensive stop and when we're not doing well, they push us to do better. It makes yourself feel important and that's something I didn't get used to in Finland. Bologna lives for basketball. It's always an incredible feeling when you hear fans singing your name.

Me: Last summer, you told blazers.com blogger Mike Barrett, that you wouldn't want to be like Luis Scola, who plays his NBA rookie season as a 26-year old. Right now you're signed with Bologna until spring 2012... have you already gotten used to the thought that you would stay in Europe for a few more years?

Petteri: Of course NBA is still the dream of mine and that is the league I want to play in some day. When it's going to happen, it's hard to say - I try to focus on one season at a time. European top basketball is a lot different from NBA basketball and right now the adjusting takes time, but I'm not worrying about it. Right now I just try to get better every day. I got a lot of work to do. I am also aware of what I'm capable of and I know that as long as I stay healthy, I have the possibility to earn myself an NBA roster spot one day.

Me: How about those Blazers? Looking good right now, right?

Petteri: Yep, gotta admit. I've been watching at least the recaps and highlights of every game and I've also seen a few games. Portland has been good. Greg Oden is steadily improving and Brandon Roy has become one of my favorite players. I don't have to be a prophet to predict that those Rose Garden fans will enjoy some playoff basketball next April!

There you have it...everything you need to know about the Blazers' "other" point guard. Thanks to our friend in Finland for the update!

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

The Potential TRADE (Dum...dum...dummmm)

2008-11-29T08:58:51Z

As you can see all...over...the...sidebar (seriously, can we stop now?) Yahoo Sports is reporting that the Blazers and Grizzlies have been discussing a potential deal. Author Adrian "Bet You Can't Spell" Wojnarwoski says specifically that the talks have been protracted, are more or less stalled, and that a trade does NOT appear imminent, but that's not going to stop gums from flapping. (Is there a more coy sports-related article than the one that says, "Here...this trade is not happening right now so there's no need to discuss it. Just thought I'd let you know..."?) So let's have it out.

The proposed deal sends Travis Outlaw and Sergio Rodriguez to Memphis for Mike Conley, Hakim Warrick, and Javaris Crittendon.

There are several levels to this potential move.

The single most important factor is how the Blazers view Conley. Forget this "He's Greg Oden's friend" stuff. The Blazers could sign Greg's high school prom date and Charles Barkley McLovin' if that were an issue. Having your best friend on the team is a distraction if the guy is furious because he never plays. So either Conley can go or he can't. If the Blazers pull the trigger on this trade you have to assume they think he's a player. This is doubly so because they'd be taking a serious step backwards in experience. Outlaw and Rodriguez aren't exactly reliable, proven commodities but Portland has invested 5+ years in Travis and 2+ years in Sergio and both are beginning to come into their own (whatever that may entail). You start over again with Conley. This does not erase Portland's experience gap at all. Conley's not going to start right away and he's not going to lead this team anywhere it's not already going this year. You're getting a backup point guard immediately and that's it. You better believe he'll grow into more than that or this deal is shaky.

You shouldn't sleep on Hakim Warrick entirely. He's a good player with a variety of offensive moves, many down low. He can fill minutes and rebound a little. But here's another issue with this trade. The Grizzlies have tried to make Warrick swing a little but basically he's a power forward. Channing Frye is a power forward. Lamarcus Aldridge is a power forward. They're both still here. You may have unclogged your logjam at small foward somewhat but you've created another one.

This trade puts the Blazers in a slightly worse position salary-wise. The salaries match up, of course, but Warrick, like Frye and Ike Diogu, is in a possible restricted free agency summer. That means he's a threat to hog cap-space unless you're prepared to release him. Unless you're talking about getting final-pieces-type talent the Blazers will probably want to keep space free or free up more through trade, not lose it. Neither Warrick nor Conley seems like final-piece-type talent at this point.

I'm surprised Javaris Crittenton hasn't been able to assert himself more than he has. I wouldn't mind him being a Blazer for a while, though it's also possible he'd just be cut, as Portland roster is full and the trade is a 2-for-3 deal.

The sum total: Conley is a potentially explosive point guard who is a ways from being explosive yet and isn't playing appreciably better than Sergio Rodriguez, let alone Steve Blake. Warrick is a nice enough player at a position where we already have one really good player and another nice enough player. We trade farther-along potential for less-far-along potential. We don't get a veteran to lead us or provide perspective that we don't yet have...in fact technically speaking we go backwards in experience. We don't get a starter at small forward or point guard in the short term. We don't consolidate or clear positional logjams. We complicate the cap situation slightly. On the face of it this deal answers none of the issues the Blazers would presumably be looking to address in a trade.

Conclusion: The talent we get back must be seen as special enough to overcome these factors. That's the only way this deal gets done. If it does go down then somebody in the Blazer front office thinks very highly of one or more of these players.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)